Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Cedric Kaze has explained the surprise absence of first-choice goalkeeper Brandon Petersen in the Carling Knockout Cup.
The 31-year-old was notably excluded from the Chiefs’ matchday squad during the club’s 5-4 defeat on penalties against Stellenbosch FC at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Chiefs and Stellies played to a 0-0 stalemate in 120 minutes, pushing the clash into the lottery of penalties where the Steve Barker-coached team emerged victorious.
In the current campaign, Petersen has been the preferred choice in the goalkeeping department after featuring in nine appearances across all competitions. He kept five clean sheets and conceded six goals before being dropped in a cup match against Stellenbosch.
With Petersen completely left out of the matchday squad, Chiefs had Fiacre Ntwari getting a nod in the starting line-up while Bruce Bvuma took a place on the bench.
WHAT KAZE SAID ABOUT PETERSEN’S ABSENCE
The Rwandan international was playing his first match in the 2025/26 season at Chiefs following his struggles for game-time. In his return to the starting line-up, Ntwari became a centre of controversy after refusing to be substituted just before the penalty shootout.
After Chiefs endured a heartbreaking exit from the Carling Cup, Kaze revealed that the absence of the former Bidvest Wits shot stopper was because of rotation in the team. “With Brandon Petersen, it was a rotation that was decided at the beginning of the season,” Kaze said in a brief answer.
Meanwhile, the Soweto giants will be aiming to use the upcoming FIFA international break to regroup to return to winning ways. Chiefs had a dip in form in the past few matches, and they are on a three-match winless run in the Betway Premiership.
They suffered a 3-1 defeat against Sekhukhune United a few weeks ago before playing two successive draws with Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu FC.
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